Sewing, Baking and Ramblings

Cute on Sunday – what makes me smile..

I’ve been procrastinating, I can’t get motivated. The sun was at least out for a little bit today so I thought I’d take advantage of this and take some pictures. I have literally 100’s of pictures of my guinea pigs, so thought I would go into my little sewing room and take some pictures of some of the things that make me smile.

Hello Kitty! Now this is where I admit I’m ahem… 32 and so technically I’m a little too old for this, but I say who cares they make me smile! It’s not just Hello Kitty I love all things Kawaii, which is the Japanese word for all things cute, loveable and adorable, and is a huge part of Japanese culture. If I were to live in Japan liking Hello Kitty would be a normal thing :) A sociology professor from Musashi University in Tokyo has actually said that the word cute is a magic term that encompasses everything that is acceptable and desirable in Japan. I think we all need a bit more cute in our lives.

Even their stamps are cute!

This is just one of my Momiji dolls I own and the newest, which was given to me on my birthday, its my new favourite! You could call me a collector but I don’t have that many… maybe 7, I do have quite a few other Kokeshi dolls. I was sad to find out that the original meaning behind the Kokeshi dolls were, they were made as a substitute or reminder for a lost child. However when I spoke to my Japanese pen pal about this she did tell me there were actually several meanings behind them, one being that people in North Japan believe children have great power and they thought the Kokeshi doll was a cute souvenir to symbolise this. I like this it’s not so sad :)

My other obsession collecting is stationary, I love these pretty pop up cards from Paperchase. I recently got into back into penpalling and have been really enjoying sending and receiving the letters and getting to know some really lovely people from around the world.

It does mean of course that I am able to fuel my collecting with replenishing the collection with pretty new cards and letters, stickers, stamps and tapes.